United States Africa Leaders Summit

Posted on : July 31, 2015

During his 2013 visit to Cape Town, U.S. President Barack Obama invited African heads of state to a summit in the United States. The theme of the summit would be the “Investing in the Future,” whose major focus would be expansion of trade and investment ties between African nations and United States.

The summit would focus on the next generation and aim to foster growth, create new opportunities and provide a better environment for future generations. The United States Africa Leaders Summit would strengthen the strategic partnership and focus on the economic development of nations in the Sub-Saharan region.The discussions at the summit were divided into three sessions based on following topics:

• Investing in the Future – U.S. strategy would invest in different economic sectors of African nations for the development of the region and attainment of a better environment for future generations.

• Peace and Regional Stability — The United States will help African nations attain political and economic stability by minimizing tensions among nations and providing them with enough opportunities and resources for sustainable growth and development.

• Governing for the Next Generation — The United States has now moved into a strategic relationship through investments rather than donating money. This will help African leaders overcome their challenges and provide better conditions so future generations can get ample opportunities for development.

The United States Africa Leaders Summit was held in Washington, D.C., from Aug. 4-6, 2014. For the span of three days, there were a number of other issues to be discussed apart from the focus on trade and investment. There was one forum at the summit to discuss the economic development of African women. It focused on the empowerment of women and participation of women in the growth of nations.

This forum was hosted by State Department’s Office for Global Women’s Issues and promoted a meaningful role for African womenin decision-making and peace-building. It also envisioned the health and security of the women living in the Sub-Saharan region. Another event hosted by U.S. first lady Michelle Obama focused on private-public partnerships for the effective development of females and ensure them ways to achieve better living conditions.

Another major issue of concern at United States Africa Leaders Summit focused on an international health partnership to provide Africans with health security, prevent future severe disease outbreaks and epidemics, promote a new culture of healthy living and help protect Africans from severe climatic variations.

The forum highlighted the areas that are highly impacted by the climatic variations and aimed to provide nations with appropriate methodologies and techniques to prevent future problems.

AGILE International is working to promote similar international partnerships to strengthen development, especially involving women, in Western Africa.